Dear Programmer, My job is to help you look good. My job is to support you as you create quality; to ease that burden instead of adding to it. In that spirit, I make the following commitments to you. Sincerely, Tester 1- I provide a service. You are an important … Continue reading

10. “This is good enough” 9. “This is how it was always done” 8. “There isn’t enough time to do it right” 7. “This requires core architectural changes” 6. “Management has not prioritized it” 5. “There is already a lot on our plate” 4. “Our software is very complex; we … Continue reading

Don’t schedule multi-tasking people for more than 80 percent of their time The task-switching overhead associated with the many activities we are all asked to do reduces our effectiveness significantly. Excessive multi-tasking introduces communication and thought process inefficiencies that reduce individual productivity. If some of your team members thrash when … Continue reading

A study I worked on recently showed that the “performance” of the software developers is “higher” in the month of Ramadan than other times!!! When I tried to investigate why..it turns out that developers avoid chat, play games in this month to avoid anything that might affect their fasting!! So … Continue reading

A programmer is walking along a beach and finds a lamp. He rubs the lamp, and a genie appears. “I am the most powerful genie in the world. I can grant you any wish, but only one wish.” The programmer pulls out a map, points to it and says, “I’d … Continue reading

Writing a software program code is like writing a novel, there’re an art behind it. We all learn how to write or speak Arabic or English but very few can become novelists. Same thing about programming languages, many know the grammar but very few can write an artistic code. Attend … Continue reading

The first step in Risk management is risk identification, One of the well-known risk identification technique is to interview and question your stakeholders. Check Appendix B of the Taxonomy-Based Risk Identification report at http://www.sei.cmu.edu/reports/93tr006.pdf for as good source for questions you can use in your risk identification process.

When your boss asks you to estimate a project’s cost or duration while you meet in the elevator. It’s a valid way of estimating called Rough order of magnitude (ROM) which is -75:100% accurate. But PLEASE email back your boss, stating all your assumptions, clarify it’s only a ROM, offer … Continue reading